Superior Creation in The Structure of The Cell Membrane

The cell membrane is a thin, elastic structure surrounding the cell. It is just a few molecules thick: 7.5 to 10 nanometers (a nanometer is 1 billionth of a meter). To obtain the thickness of a piece of paper, you would have to place more than 10,000 cell membranes one atop the other. Basically, the membrane is a border protecting the cell from the outside, but it also possesses very many complex features and duties that scientists have still not discovered.

A living cell is a marvel of detailed and complex architecture. Carl Sagan

The microbiologist Professor Michael Denton refers to these duties in one of his books:

.. The cell is uniquely and ideally fit to function as the basic unit of carbon-based life. Cells are capable of carrying out any instruction, adopting any shape, creating the vast diversity of multicellular organisms and ultimately the whole world of life. Evidence is examined which suggests that the cell membrane is uniquely and ideally fit for its role of bounding the cell's contents and conferring on the cells of higher organisms the ability to move and adhere selectively to one another. The membrane is also fit, in that its selective impermeability to charged particles confers additional electrical properties, which form the base of nerve conduction ... The known properties of cells are remarkable enough, but still there is much to learn. The possibility that cells may possess powerful computing abilities and may even be able to behave intelligently is considered. 23

	Organelles Inside The Cells Are Divided From One Another By Membranes Surrounding Them, Like Walls Around The Rooms Of A House
	1. Cell nucleus 2. Nucleolus 3. Ribosomes 4. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum 5. Cell membrane 6. Microvillus	7. Cell skeleton 8. Centrioles 9. Mitochondria 10. Rough endoplasmic reticulum 11. Lysosome 12. Golgi apparatus
	Together with interior membranes surrounding many organelles inside the cell, the cell membrane can be compared to the exterior wall of a house. Though it separates the cell from the outside environment, the cell membrane is not totally impassable. Rather, it operates as an exceedingly sensitive control mechanism, permitting suitable substances to enter and depart, while preventing others from doing so.

Cell membranes are vitally important in holding cells together to form tissue in multi-celled organisms. Together with interior membranes surrounding the many organelles within the cell, the overall cell membrane can be likened to the exterior walls surrounding the rooms in a house. Though it separates the cell's protoplasm from the external environment, the membrane is not completely impermeable, but functions as an exceptionally sensitive control mechanism, allowing suitable substances to enter and leave, while preventing others from entering. For instance, it admits food substances and expels waste products. In addition it transmits chemical and electrical signals that induce the cell to produce proteins or else to divide in two. Therefore, the cell membrane is one of the most vital organelles of the cell.

Just as in buildings protected by security systems, special elements in the cell membrane gates check everything going in or out, using sensitive detectors. The fact that such an important security system is performed by the membranes in trillions of cells is an example of Allah's compassion for human beings.

The Cell's Security Line: The Cell Membrane

The cell membrane does not operate like a sieve or filter, in which only size counts, and the question is ignored of whether a substance is harmful or beneficial. Yet with its selective permeability, the cell membrane performs selection based on the qualities of substances. Ones that might damage the cell are excluded, and useful ones are taken inside by a variety of means, without regard to their size.

The cell membrane separates the cell from the external environment, taking in those molecules that the cell requires and expelling those that need to be removed, without wasting any time.

Think of the cell membrane as the surrounding wall that protects a building with the tightest security measures. At all the doorways, special guards are able to recognize everything within the structure and identify those coming from the outside. Everything must enter or leave through these checkpoints. Only those which need to enter the building are allowed in, and those that need to leave are permitted to depart. But the selection in the cell membrane is not fixed and mechanical, but is a very complex process that alters in accordance with conditions.

The evolutionist biologist Hoimar von Ditfurth refers to this selection mechanism with great amazement:

. . . we are looking at . . . a kind of molecular nerve fence with a far greater ability than any porous web or filter. As we can observe from sieving sand, mechanical sieves do not permit bodies whose circumference is greater than a certain level to pass through. Those with a large circumference are caught in the sieve, while smaller ones pass through. Clearly, such a simple "distinction" that divides matter into only two classes according to size, while making no distinction among those particles above and below the benchmark, will do the cell no good whatsoever. Because in order to grow and develop, the cell needs a wide range of molecules. And in order to survive some of the molecules it has to leave "outside" may be as large or small, or even the same size, as those it lets in.

Thus a non-mechanical, biological nerve membrane is able to flawlessly perform such a process of selection and elimination. This membrane distinguishes between substances according to their type, rather than their size. To put it another way, it selects according to qualitative criteria rather than quantitative ones. This is an astonishing, mind-boggling ability ... 24

That such a delicate structure, invisible to the naked eye, should possess such a selection mechanism cannot be accounted for in terms of blind coincidences. The cell's selection mechanism, which we shall detail in later chapters, requires intelligence and awareness. It is certainly impossible for cells to feel such a responsibility of their own accord, to decide what is necessary and what is harmful for the body, and to perform this function flawlessly. Anyone looking at the cell membrane with an open mind will see, as in every point in the universe, the inspiration and dominion of Allah.

The Cell Membrane's Special Structure

1. The Water - attracting Hydrophilic Section 2. The Water - repelling Hydrophobic Section

The water-retaining phosphate parts of the phospholipid molecules making up the cell membrane face the cell's exterior surface. If the phosphate sections were inside, then the water-repellent lipid parts would repel water. Water could not enter the cell, chemical reactions in the cell could not take place, and its life would be endangered.

Its unique structure enables the membrane surrounding the cell to carry out so many important functions. The membrane consists of fat, protein and carbohydrates, and the fat layer has a most important function. Because the cell as a whole is like a mechanism that has to operate underwater, the cell's very survival depends on the membrane not permitting water to pass through in either direction. At the same time, the water required by the cell—which itself consists of 70% water—must be able to enter and leave. The phospholipid molecule is created especially for this purpose. One end of it is hydrophilic—that is, it attracts water—while the other end of it (being hydrophobic), repels it.

The fatty layer making up the greater part of the cell membrane consists of these special phospholipids molecules. The phosphate end attracts water molecules and holds onto them, while the fat end is hydrophobic. As this structure forms, the hydrophilic phosphate groups turn themselves towards water, and the hydrocarbon chain distances itself from water because of its hydrophobic property. As a result, the phospholipid molecules string themselves together to form a cell membrane in which the hydrophilic phosphate sections face the inner and outer surfaces of the membrane. To put it another way, the phospholipids bind to one another end-to-end and form a double-layered membrane. The hydrophilic ends face both the water-based cytoplasm inside the cell and the liquid between the other water-based cells outside. The hydrophobic "tails" are squeezed between the hydrophobic surfaces of the cell membrane.

This arrangement is most important, because the phosphate parts of the phospholipids being on the outside makes the passage of water possible, one of the cell's basic needs. Were the phosphate parts on the inside, the hydrophobic lipids would repel the water, which would be unable to contact the membrane and enter the cell. In that case, chemical reactions within the cell would fail to take place, and life would be endangered.25 Due to their hydrophobic structures, phospholipids are not permeable to such water-soluble contents of the cell as sugar, amino acids and other organic acids. This, as we shall be examining in detail, is essential for bodily functions, and therefore for life itself.

Phospholipid molecules are irreplaceably important with regard to their arrangements in the cell membrane. The cellular biologist John Trinkaus comments about the molecule's unique structure:

Because water is itself a strongly polar phosphate of the membrane, lipids will inevitably be attracted to the surfaces of the membrane, both external and cytoplasmic. And just as inevitably, their non-polar fatty acid parts will tend to be squeezed into the interior of the membrane ... Simply because of their intrinsic chemical nature, phospholipids naturally and spontaneously self-assemble to form a bi-layer in a watery solution. 26

	1. Micelle 2. Air 3. Water 4. Sequence of molecules in the single-layer phospholipid layer 5. Phospholipids form micelles—small insoluble particles made up by fat molecules—in water. 6. The water-attracting (hydrophilic) part attached to water 7. Water-repellent (hydrophobic) tail remaining in the inner part of the cell 8 Sequence of molecules in the double-layered phospholipid layer
	This sequence of the cell membrane is of the greatest importance, because the phosphate part of the phospholipids makes possible the passage of water, one of the cell's basic needs.

As you see, everything is in the right place and the right form. How do the molecules forming the cell membrane's phospholipid structure know where they need to be during the membrane's construction? In fact, the molecule has the ideal purpose-directed structure. Moreover, no known substance can replace this special structure. The features of viscosity and lack of permeability absolutely must be present in any membrane system surrounding the cell. Yet these features are found together only in the double-layered lipid membrane. To a large extent, the cell's very existence depends on the biochemical and biophysical properties of this double-layered lipid membrane.

	1. Integral protein 2. Oligosaccharide 3. Glycolipid 4. Hydrophobic alpha helix 5. Phospholipid 6. Cholesterol
	All along the cell membrane, there are proteins, products of cell metabolism, that permit controlled transport. While these allow the cell to function, the cell is necessary for their production. Therefore, in order for living beings to exist, both the proteins and the information that codes them and the organelles that produce them must all be present at the same time.

In the presence of water, lipids and phospholipids line up alongside one another and can form layers or even spheres. Yet the astonishing information encoded in the membrane distinguishes cells from spheres—necessary for the proteins and other molecules that permit controlled carriage along the length of the cell membrane. Proteins, products of the cell metabolism, permit the cell to function, and the cell is needed to produce them.

In order to maintain life, the proteins, and the data that encode them, and the organelles that produce them must all have appeared simultaneously—an event that is impossible through mere coincidence. This situation, therefore, cannot be explained by Darwinists.

This fact, which demonstrates that coincidence can have no place in the origin of life, is one that Darwinists are forced to accept. Von Ditfurth confesses as much:

. . . the statistical impossibility of living structures emerging as the result of chance is a rather contemporary example of the much-loved and present-day level of scientific development. Looking at the extraordinary peculiarities of the formation of a single protein molecule that performs biological processes, it appears impossible to account for these combining together, in the correct and requisite sequence, in the correct location and with the correct electrical and mechanical properties in terms of a series of individual coincidences. 28

All types of lipids contain long hydrophobic chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms, and these chains are either insoluble or only very minimally soluble in water. The fact that many varieties of lipid are insoluble in water is of vital biological importance. Were there no insoluble compounds, it would be impossible for a cell to be divisible into sections and for its components to remain permanent. That would be unsuitable for life. In a similar way, if water were a universal solvent, then no environment suited to life could exist: It would be impossible for the cell to be divided into compartments or to form durable structures. All cell compounds would commingle or melt away and disappear.

The Phospholipid Molecule Constituting The Cell Membrane is a Miracle of Creation
	1. Phospholipid 2. Various groups (choline) /(CH3)3 3. Phosphate group head part 4. Charged pole head part 5. Fatty acid tail 6. Uncharged pole tail part 7. Two-layered phospholipid membrane 8. Fatty part 9. Cell membrane 10. Saturated fatty acid 11. Unsaturated fatty acid
	A. The structural formula of phosphatidylcholine: The special phospholipid shown here is phosphatidylcholine. Phospholipids are the building blocks of the cell membrane. B. Cavity-filling model: In this model, unsaturated fatty acid assumes a very convoluted shape.
C. The molecules making up the cell membrane's phospholipid structure are present in just the needed form and place. The fact that phospholipid molecules have the ideal molecular structure for the cell, and that no known substance can replace that structure, is no doubt a proof of Creation.

In most lipids in the cell, the length of the hydrocarbon chain is generally 16 to 18 carbon atoms. This length is ideal for several reasons. In terms of biological efficiency, chains longer than 18 carbon atoms are insoluble and cannot react in water. Those shorter than 16 carbon atoms are too soluble. At the temperatures at which metabolic processes in living things are carried out, lipids composed of chains of this ideal length are either liquid or in a close to that of liquid state. If chains of this length were solid under typical environmental conditions, then the structures they compose would not be elastic enough to perform any functions within the cell. In addition, in their liquid state, these chains protect living cytoplasm against destructive forces because they are less viscous than water. 29

The hydrophobic (water-repellent) structure of fats lends stability to the cell's structures, borders and compartments. Due to its protective structure, hydrophobic micro-environments independent of water and of vital importance to life can form within the cell. A great many activities essential to the maintenance of life can occur only in water-free environments. In conclusion, were it not for the hydrophobic properties of lipids, carbon-based life would be impossible. This is yet another one of a great many properties especially created for life to exist.

Why is It Important That the Cell Membrane is Fluid?

One of the vital properties of the lipid bilayer (or double layer) membrane is that it's not solid but fluid. With its flawless fluid character, it constantly surrounds the disordered and mobile cytoplasm. Protein molecules in the membrane along the surface of the cell are able to change places. These molecules' ability to extend along the membrane permits free passage through the membrane of certain special substances, as you shall see in detail further on.

The cholesterol molecules in the cell membrane are lipids defining the membrane's fluidity and are present in a dissolved state in the double-layer lipid membrane. Their main function is, by maintaining the fluidity of the cell membrane, to increase permeability against soluble substances in body fluids.

	1. Glycolipid 2. Carbohydrate chain 3. Glycoprotein 4. Outer surface of membrane 5. Inner surface of membrane 6. Water-repellent (hydrophobic) region 7. Protein molecule 8. Water-attracting (hydrophilic) region 9. Cholesterol 10. Double-layer phospholipid layer
	For the cell to survive, its membrane must have a viscous property. If the cell membrane loses this, then proteins in the membrane can't fulfill their functions and the membrane loses its permeability.

In order for the cell to survive, the cell membrane must possess this fluidity. Lowering the temperatures of liquids outside the cell lead to hardening of the cell membrane and loss of fluidity, obstructing the functions of proteins in the membrane.

In his book Nature's Destiny, the microbiologist Michael Denton draws attention to the essential nature of this structure of the cell membrane:

One of the most important structures in the cell, which is largely composed of lipids, is the cell membrane. It is difficult to see how a cell could survive without some sort of bonding membrane which was relatively impermeable to the cell's constituents—especially to small metabolites such as sugars and amino acids—to prevent its contents from diffusing away into the surrounding fluid. Such a membrane would also have to be relatively plastic and able to maintain a continuous barrier between the cell and its environment ... As one leading biologist points out, it is essential that the cell membrane should behave like a "two-dimensional liquid" and be able to flow in all directions over the surface of cytoplasm to maintain a continuous barrier between the cell and its surroundings in the face of "the ever changing protrusive activities of the cell surface." 30

In conclusion, the lipid double-layer membrane possesses at once a high level of fluidity, but also the viscosity of olive oil. If the membrane possessed many flawless properties but lacked only that viscosity, then the cell could not survive. These properties, all essentially important to the continuation of life, show us the final detail and balances in Allah's Creation. Anyone who sees these proofs of Creation must realize His existence, know that he owes his life to Allah and give thanks to Him.

How Do Substances Enter and Leave the Cell Without Damaging the Membrane?

1. Small, uncharged polarized molecules 2. Ions 3. Water-repellent (hydrophobic) molecules	4. Large, uncharged polarized molecules 5. Hydrocarbon 6. Glucose
The cell membrane is permeable to oxygen, fats and small molecules bearing no electrical charge. It is impermeable to electrically charged or polarized large molecules such as ions or protein. That a layer made up of fat—the cell membrane—possesses such a sensitive selection mechanism is just one example of the infinite wisdom of Allah.

The cell membrane's fat-based lipid structure prevents water within the cell and the solutes dissolved in it from leaking out. But how are waste products carried outside the cell through a membrane that admits no leakage, without the cell being ruptured or swelling up and bursting? And how do nutrients manage to get inside?

The double-layer lipid membrane represents the main barrier to substances soluble in water such as glucose, urea and ions. At the same time, the lipids in the membrane's structure prevent water and any substances dissolved in it from moving freely from one region to another. But oxygen, nitrogen, and other small molecules are easily dissolved in lipids and thus can move back and forth through the cell membrane. Substances that dissolve in fat, such as carbon dioxide and alcohol, can easily pass through these sections of the membrane. Although the water molecule is insoluble in fat, because of its small size and electrical charge, it easily passes through the cell membrane. The physicist and biologist Professor Gerald Schroeder describes the importance of this special characteristic of the cell membrane:

Though highly flexible, the tenacity of the bonds between the phospholipids molecules maintains structure. Pinch some skin. It doesn't break or crack. Release it, and it returns to the original shape. Puncture a cell membrane with an ultra-sharp needle and then withdraw the needle. The membrane reseals the hole and goes on with its work. Because the membrane has both water-loving (polar) and water-rejecting (nonpolar) molecules, can't get past the polar surface ... But nature is clever, somehow filled with wisdom . . . [The membrane's] design is absolutely brilliant. 31

The intellect and Creation excitedly referred to by the author belong to our Lord, Who causes His superior knowledge to manifest in all things. The way that the membrane's structure is not damaged during entries and exits from the cell, how it permits constant entry to a number of substances without splitting or tearing, and also removes substances from the cell are miraculous phenomena taking place in a dimension too small to be seen with the naked eye. Yet they occur through the will of our Lord, as is revealed in the verses: "No leaf falls without His knowing it." (Surat al-An'am, 59) and "Not even the smallest speck eludes your Lord, either on Earth or in heaven ... " (Surah Yunus, 61).

Proteins in the Cell Membrane

1. Membrane protein Proteins in the cell membrane perform functions such as recognition, transport, and absorption into the cell. A single error might lead to the death of the cell and thus, to damage of the organ to which it belongs or the whole body. It's of course impossible for proteins, accumulations of unconscious atoms, to spontaneously undertake functions requiring reason and foresight. These are inspired in them by Allah.

The cell membrane basically consists of a bi-lipid layer and a large number of protein molecules floating inside it. Because of the membrane's fluid property described earlier, proteins in the membrane act like a security checkpoint. Large molecules like proteins and sugar cannot pass through without assistance. Proteins within the membrane serve to carry these substances into and out of the cell.

The cell membrane lipids are not permeable to electrically-charged molecules, no matter how small they may be, because phospholipid molecules consist of an electrically-charged polar "head" and two non-polar fatty-acid "tails." As in water, the lipid parts repel ions and other polar substances, and so many substances are able to enter and leave the cell only by means of special protein molecules within the cell membrane. As Gerald Schroeder asks, "Who or what decides what should enter and leave?" 32

Viewed from the outside, the cell membrane consisting of fat molecules can be compared to a sphere made out of marbles. Once you enter the "wall" around this sphere, the wall's contents resemble potatoes and rod-like objects. These are the protein molecules that perform the cell membrane's functions, identifying those substances outside the cell that need to be carried inside. They allow these substances in and, depending on their properties, perform functions such as transportation.

The proteins assume a most critical responsibility. The supervision of entry and exit in the cell membrane is comparable to the advanced security checks at the entrance to an important building. Anyone wanting to enter is first searched, and any bags or packages he may be carrying are passed through an X-ray machine. If necessary, his identity is confirmed with optical scanners or fingerprint checks, and only then is the individual allowed in. The security officials performing these duties must make no mistakes and should implement every precaution. One error could threaten the whole building. However, during all these checks trained personnel and technological equipment developed by engineers are employed. Not a single detail can be explained in terms of chance, because an flawless foresight is followed at every stage.

The Cell Membrane's Ideal Structure For Life
	(A) The Cell (B) Membrane Protein Passing Inside The Cell Membrane (C) Enlarged View Of Spiral Sections Passing Through The Membrane 1. Cell Membrane 2. Carbohydrate Bonds 3. Cell Membrane, Consisting Of A Double-Layered Phospholipid Layer
	In 1972, S. Jonathan Singer and Garth Nicholson of California University proposed a model to describe the relationship between the proteins and lipids in the cell membrane. They compared the proteins to icebergs floating in a sea of lipids, saying that part of these proteins—the tips—were folded above or beneath the cell membrane, and that the protein's middle part was buried inside the membrane. It is known that proteins consisting of such three regions play important roles in biological processes. One of them was examined in detail following Singer and Nicholson's liquid-mosaic model.

The proteins inside the cell membrane performing such tasks as recognition, transportation and reception, operate according to a plan, just as if they knew the vital responsibility they have undertaken. Any single error will lead to the death of the cell, and thus damage the organ of which it is a part, or the whole body. Is it therefore possible for protein molecules themselves to display this great intelligence and expertise, and for all the proteins in the cell to adopt these common plans? It is of course impossible for the intelligence and foresight displayed to belong to the proteins, consisting of unconscious atoms, themselves. It is Almighty Allah, Who creates the proteins and, through His command, makes them the kind of molecules which remain loyal to their duties and employ flawless methods to accomplish their goals.

	1. Proteins buried in the cell membrane 2. Cross-section of the double-layered lipid layer
	Entry and departure in the cell membrane is controlled like the security measures implemented at the entrance to a building. For the survival of the cell, it's vital that the cell membrane fulfills this function with great care, never making a mistake. Bear in mind that security systems are produced by engineers, and the cell membrane's superior function becomes even clearer.

He is the Originator of the heavens and the Earth. How could He have a son when He has no wife? He created all things and He has knowledge of all things. That is Allah, your Lord. There is no god but Him, the Creator of everything. So worship Him. He is responsible for everything. Eyesight cannot perceive Him, but He perceives eyesight. He is the All-Penetrating, the All-Aware. (Surat al-An‘am, 101-103)

The cell membrane proteins may be classified into three groups, each with its own enormous expertise:

Transport Proteins

Some of the proteins in the cell membrane acts as transporters, assisting in regulating what enters and leaves the cell. These proteins have two important parts: the fat-friendly part that adheres to the cell membrane itself, and the other part that binds to substances that need to be transported. These proteins bind to the given substance, change the load's course and carry it along the cell membrane.

These transport proteins adhere to specific molecules and carry only these into the cell. While they perform these functions, their shape changes, and sometimes they require energy to pass substances through the cell membrane. There are no holes in the cell membrane itself. Therefore, water, protein, nucleic acid and certain small molecules unable to pass directly through the cell membrane's lipid double layer all enter the cell by means of these transport proteins.

Due to their three-dimensional amino acid strings, these carrier proteins can easily construct a narrow passage. Substances of a particular size are thus able to enter that space and pass through the channel. Size alone is not enough to be able to pass through, however: the selective cell membrane allows only those substances the cell needs to be taken inside.

The Hormone Adrenalin Means Different Things To Each Variety Of Cell
1. Adrenalin gland 2. Kidney 3. Adrenalin	4. The heart cell 5. Adrenalin molecules 6. Liver cell
At times of danger, your body declares a state of emergency, and your adrenal glands secrete the hormone adrenalin. Adrenalin molecules carried by the bloodstream mean different things to every organ: Going to the veins, this molecule expands them. When it goes to the heart, it accelerates the contraction of the heart muscle. When adrenalin molecules reach muscle cells, they enable them to contract more powerfully.
At the liver, they command cells to release more sugar into the blood, providing the muscles with the extra fuel they need. This activity by the adrenalin requires considerable intellect, knowledge and ability. All these are definitive proofs that Allah has created every molecule in your body and that throughout your life, they act under His will and control. The physicist and biologist Professsor Gerald L. Schroeder, has written: But nature is clever, somehow filled with wisdom. Thousands of receptor and transporter molecules, special proteins, penetrate the wall, determining what can and cannot pass. Muscle cells and especially muscle cells of the heart have large numbers of receptors created to pass adrenaline, a stimulant hormone that greatly increases a muscle's energy production. Taken up by the heart muscles, the beat increases dramatically, pumping oxygen-rich blood to power-hungry muscles in arms and legs. (Gerald L. Schroeder, How Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth, New York: The Free Press, 2001, p. 64.)

Recognition Proteins

1. Cell exterior 2. Cell membrane	3. Antibody recognizing microphage 4. Cell interior
Cells like the immune system's T cells employ proteins to determine whether a cell belongs to the body. In this way, the T cell identifies foreign substances and emits signals for the necessary measures to be taken.

These proteins function like molecular flags and signposts. Rod-like protrusions generally consisting of sugar on these proteins extend outside the cell membrane, allowing cells to recognize and make connections with one another. Because these proteins, leukocyte cells for example can distinguish the body's own cells from foreign bodies like viruses and bacteria. Cells such as the T-cells in the immune system use recognition proteins to tell whether any particular cell belongs to the body or not. Since surgically transplanted tissue possesses the wrong recognition proteins, the immune system rejects such organs unless it is suppressed. These same proteins also permit the sperm cells to recognize the egg cell.

The recognition proteins in the cell membrane are the target of viruses and bacteria, because toxins bind to recognition proteins in order to kill cells. Under typical conditions, as a result of these proteins, the connections between cells regulate cell growth. But in a cancer cell, for example, the number of recognition proteins is very low. For that reason, the immune system cannot identify the cancer cells that need to be eliminated. 33

And mankind and beasts and livestock are likewise of varying colours. Only those of His slaves with knowledge have fear of Allah. Allah is Almighty, Ever-Forgiving. (Surah Fatir, 28)

Channel Proteins

Some proteins form channels along the length of the cell membrane. These proteins have two special sections: the fat-friendly part that adheres to material in the cell membrane, and the water-friendly part that forms in the inner part of the channel. In this way, a route is formed for water-soluble substances to move in and out of the cell. These proteins, function like gates and regulate the movement of molecules entering and leaving the cell, forming particular gaps in the cell membrane that are always open.

Protein channels are accepted to be the waterways in the interior of protein molecules. Using these channels, some substances to be taken into the cell can easily pass from one side of the cell membrane to the other. Protein channels can be distinguished by two important properties: They are generally selective and permeable to specific substances, and most channels open and close with gates (whose features we shall be examining in due course).

Incomparable Functions of The Cell Membrane Proteins
	1. Enzyme 2. Receptor section 3. The cell's identity-checker	4. Cell attachment 5. Transport channel 6. Binding of the cell skeleton
	The different cell membrane proteins (shown in blue in the diagram) have a number of very important functions: Some form "channels" through which various substances enter and depart from the cell. Enzymes help speed up chemical reactions. Some proteins, when attached to special chemicals, serve as receptors, setting functions such as hormone synthesis into operation. This attachment launches the beginning of a certain function such as the synthesis of hormon in the cell. The identifiers of the cell are the proteins receiving information regarding whether other cells in the body are foreign invaders. Some proteins assume structural functions; others serve as attachment points for cells to adhere to one another. Other proteins are important in anchoring the cell skeleton. Every protein and cell in your body, has been created for a particular purpose, equipped with particular attributes, and specially located in the place where its function needs to be performed. In short, man was created—and every detail in your body is proof of that Creation.

Carbohydrates in The Cell Membrane
1. Carbohydrate bonds 2. Protein chain 3. Non-polarized section of cell membrane protein	4. Phospholipid 5. Cholesterol 6. Spherical protein
Carbohydrates make up 2 to 10% of the cell membrane, but always combine with proteins or lipids and are present in the form of glycoproteins or glycolipids. The glycol parts of these molecules usually form protrusions from the surface of the cell. The carbohydrate ends that bind to the cell's outer surface perform important functions:
Since most are negatively charged, they cause the outer surface of the cell to be negatively charged as well, repelling other negatively charged substances. They bind the glucocalyces of some cells to the glycocalicins of others; and in this way, cells are bound to one another. Most of the carbohydrates serve as receptions to bind such hormones as insulin. Later, they cause a series of intercellular enzymes to go into action. Some enter into immune reactions. As you see, even the seemingly smallest detail has very important effects in our being healthy, reading and thinking over these lines. Everything in your body serves a specific purpose, and as a result of the systems that function without your even feeling them, you live your life in considerable comfort. This is therefore a great blessing that we are able to consider all these details, to see the proofs of the existence of our Lord, and to appreciate Him better. Indeed, Allah reveals in one verse: “. . . Only those of His servants with knowledge fear Allah. . . “ (Surah Fatir, 28)